A Good Kick in the Butt
by anna2
Summary: Spike delivers a much needed lecture to Dawn and Willow, regarding their treatment of the Slayer.


Title: A Good Kick in the Butt  
  
Rating: PG  
  
Distribution: This site. All others ask first.  
  
Disclaimer: All character relating to BTVS are not mine. They belong to Joss Whedon, FOX and Mutant Enemy. If they were mine, Buffy'd be a lot happier.  
  
Feedback: Yes please. Click the box below or email me at Abrewer@flagler.edu  
  
Summary: Spike delivers a much needed lecture to Willow and Dawn. Personally, I think Dawn ought to have been handed over to Social Services back around Halloween. And Willow should have been kicked out when Tara left.  
  
Spoilers: Doublemeat Palace and Dead Things. If you haven't seen them or read the wildfeed for them, then don't read this. You've been warned and I want no flames because some got spoiled.  
  
Dawn had never seen an angry vampire this close before. Well, one that was angry with HER. Spike was obviously struggling to keep himself from vamping out as he paced around.  
  
"Tell me again what you said to your sister. That she was turning herself into the police for a murder she thought she committed, just to get away from you. Tell me little girl, do your brains function?" Spike was snarling. He'd never thought it was possible to get pissed at the niblet but after putting together a lot of puzzle pieces in the way she was treating her sister, his chip kept threatening to kick in from the dark thought he was having. "Honestly, Buffy would walk through Hell for you, DIED for you and you can't drop the brat act for 5 bloody minutes?!"  
  
"I'm sorry," Dawn stammered out. "I'll apologize to her."  
  
"Like that's going to make it all right. When are you going to do that? In between her double shifts and patrolling, or on her one day off a week that she spends making sure the bills get paid, the food gets bought and the house gets cleaned. Social Services is still sniffing around here or had you forgotten? Maybe getting pulled into foster care would knock some sense into your thick head?" Spike was cut off in mid rant by Willow coming home from her classes. With her ban on magic still in effect, she no longer could kill her afternoons in the Magic Box.  
  
"What's going on?" She took in the scene and went immediately to Dawn's defense. "Spike what are you doing to her?"  
  
Spike growled lightly in her direction, causing both girls to take a step back. He hadn't growled at them in months. "I was just making it plain to Dawn how crappily she's been treating her sister, and how if I were Buffy I'd have let Social Service take her months ago."  
  
"How dare you?!" Willow yelped back at him.  
  
"Don't worry witch, I'll get to you in a minute." Spike turned back to Dawn. "Where was I? Oh yes, how much your sister does for you. Let's go through her typical day shall we? Alarm goes off at 5:00 am because she has to help open the restaurant at 6. She then spends the next 12 hours flipping burgers, cleaning tables and dealing with surly, rude, mean customers. Not to mention her boss. Then she gets off work, comes home and makes dinner. If you and Willow have already eaten, she washes the dishes you've left in the sink and helps you with your homework. And I might add, you make it as unpleasant as possible for the both of you. I thought Darla was difficult. She's got nothing on a 15-year-old with an attitude problem." Spike paused to take an unneeded breath. "After doing the parenting thing for you, she goes to keep the damn world safe until around 1 or 2 in the morning. She comes home, falls into bed and gets up again a few hours later when the alarm goes off again. Time to start the next day."  
  
"This is the routine for 6 days in a row. Then she gets a day off. Time to go grocery shopping, run errands, do laundry and clean the house. Wouldn't do to have that social worker stop by and find the place a mess now would it? Then she might lose you and that would send her over the edge. If she had any spare time, it's spend trying to be a good parent and big sister to you, helping Anya and the whelp plan the wedding, and oh yeah, having a life."  
  
Tears were sliding down Dawn's face now as Spike's word hit home. "You look very nice Dawn. Is that a new shirt? Where could it have come from? I know. You wheedled an extra $20 out of your sister that she couldn't afford to give you, rebuffed her efforts to go shopping with you and bought it last weekend at the mall. You know what the last new piece of clothing your sister got was? That wretched uniform she has to wear 12 hours a day, 6 days a week. She has to wear it that much because it's the only way to keep a roof over your head, food in your stomach and new clothes on your back. Did you notice that when your sister went grocery shopping later that she had to make up for that $20 she gave you? To do that she won't eat anything but the crap she gets at work for next three or four days. But you don't know that. You were out with Janice when this happened. And you have no idea that every single cent your sister can spare goes into an account so you can go to college. You aren't going to spend your life flipping burger like big sis. You're going to get a degree and make something of yourself because she is determined for that to happen."  
  
Dawn was openly sobbing now and Willow decided it was time to put a stop to Spike's tirade. "That's enough Spike. Are you happy now? She's crying."  
  
"Well then let's talk about you witch. About how you don't contribute a damn dime to this household. When was the last time you so much as bought groceries? Or ran the vacuum cleaner? Or did laundry that isn't your own? You live here rent free, you aren't asked to pitch in on bills and you don't do any chores. At the most you pretend to keep an eye on the Niblet here."  
  
Willow was floored by the accusations coming from Spike. And what was worse was that they were true. She felt her face reddening in horror at she had been free loading. Before she could say anything, Spike was ranting again. "And before you can apologize, I'll put the same challenge to you as I did to Dawn. When would you? When she's leaving at the crack of dawn and you're grumbling at her be quiet? You get to sleep until 8. Or when you see her at the Magic Box and start in about how hard it is to stay off magic? I know, how about when you and Dawn have dinner together, forget to leave her plate of food, but remember to leave dirty dishes in the sink. You breeze in and out, going to class, making a life for yourself and can't so much as say thank you. I'm surprised she puts up with either of you. She's a bigger person than I am, that's for sure."  
  
"And do you both know what the worst part of this is? I had to point it out in minute detail how much harder you're making life for Buffy. And you'll both cry and resolve to do better and a month from now we'll be right back were we started. And you can't go apologizing either. She may be permanently exhausted, to the point of endangering her health, but she's not stupid. You go running to her with tears in your eyes, pleading how sorry are and she'll know someone said something to you. And that hurt worse than all the rest of it combined."  
  
"She loves both you so much. She'd do anything for her baby sister and her best friend. She's working a dead end, going nowhere job to put a roof over your heads. She spends all her free time being a single parent to a 15-year-old girl who snots at her every chance she gets. She has no social life, no time for herself. And this is her life. It's never going to change. She's never going to have the money to go back to school. Any spare money she has is put aside for you Niblet. Doublemeat Palace is it for her. Maybe someday she'll make manager. No more opening shifts. Maybe she'll be able to sell this house. Then she can cut back her hours when there's no mortgage to meet. And when that day comes you two will be so wrapped up in yourselves that you won't even notice. But she will. She'll finally be able to notice just how damn badly you treat her and how much better off she'd be without her! And when that day comes, she still won't leave you. She loves you too much. That'll be her downfall, not some demon." Spike turned on his heel and stormed out the front door. The ball was in their court now. He just prayed they'd know what to do with it. 


End file.
